BELFAST, Maine — Two of the three men accused of impersonating police officers in September in order to steal medical marijuana from a Winterport man have pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Scott Roberts, 35, of Glenburn was arraigned Monday in Waldo County Superior Court, at which time he entered his plea. Jeffrey Hurd, 48, of Glenburn, pleaded not guilty on Nov. 18.
Both Roberts and Hurd have been unable to make bail and remain in police custody at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
They and the third accused man, Kerry L. Hurd, 45, of Bangor, all were indicted last month by the Waldo County Grand Jury on charges of robbery, theft by unauthorized taking, impersonating a public servant and criminal trespass. A Waldo County court official on Tuesday said that a warrant has been issued for Kerry L. Hurd’s arrest, but to her knowledge nothing further has happened yet in his case. No further information about Kerry L. Hurd’s situation was immediately available Tuesday.
Two of the three men dressed in black SWAT team gear and the other wore a sheriff’s office uniform and brandished a gun when they entered the property, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said in September.
“The homeowner confronted the intruders verbally and the three fled from the property with an armful of mature marijuana plants,” McCausland said then.
Surveillance camera footage taken at the home clearly showed the faces of Jeffrey Hurd and Roberts, who turned themselves in to police at the beginning of October after they were identified. A warrant for the arrest of Kerry L. Hurd was issued by police a week after that.
Police said the public played a pivotal role in identifying the men.
Bail for Jeffrey Hurd was set at $10,000 cash or $50,000 surety. Roberts’ bail had been set at $15,000 cash, but this week the court amended that to include a $75,000 surety component, according to his court-appointed attorney, Jeremy Pratt of Camden. If the men are able to post bail, they will be prohibited from contacting the alleged victim or returning to the Winterport residence where the crime allegedly took place.
“We’re optimistic he’ll be able to post it,” Pratt said Tuesday of Roberts. “He is doing as well as anyone who is in jail is doing.”
Pratt said it is too soon to discuss his client’s defense or to speculate on whether the case will go to trial.